Letters from Brazil

Dear Friends,
I am doing well working for God here in Brazil. As some may know, I am on a mission trip in Sao Paulo, Brazil until Aug. 13. Every week I’ve been writing about my travels.
The past week has been very interesting. After the first camp ended, the group and I took a day of rest. The next day we went from Atibaia to Pedra Grande, one of the biggest mountains in Sao Paulo. There the group and I were able to relax and enjoy God’s creations.
While there we took many pictures, watched hang gliders and “parachuters” jump off the mountain edge, and we climbed to the mountain top.
Once I reached the top, I saw a rock that was stable but split in half. That rock, once climbed, will bring you to the highest point on the mountain. So Zach, from Easton, Pa., Jeff, from Maryland, and I got on top of that rock and took off our shirts.
It did look funny, especially when we posed for our picture. But it was really awesome to look down to see all of Atibaia and its surrounding vegetation and land formations.
The three of us also yelled “Jesus” in Portuguese from that rock and just enjoyed the wind on our faces. Once we left Pedra Grande, we stopped at a natural spring to drink and obtain water. It was funny, the spring was just a small waterfall, almost as if it was an ant compared to us. But the water was so delicious; I never tasted water so good in my life. It surely was a beautiful experience on Pedre Grande; for all of us.
Later that night, we all went out to eat at a Brazilian pizzeria. What I saw was amazing. I remember sitting next to Zach, looking over the menu and were we shocked! I could not read the type of pizzas, since it was all in Portuguese, but there were over 40 kinds, including dessert pizzas.
The pizza in Brazil is awesome because there are so many different options. It is as if when you order a pizza here, you are ordering a full-course meal.
I once had pizza here that was covered in meat, onions, eggs, cheese, olives and green peppers; it was amazingly good. So we all ate our pizza together and shared jokes, stories and experiences; following with all of us going to an ice cream shop for dessert.
Once the night ended, the group went back to the camp.
I went with Marcos Jr., the son Marcos and Sue, who are owners of the camp, to Sao Paulo City, to help him picking up his cousins, who were going to help with the upcoming camp.
During the ride we talked about many things. He told me how Sao Paulo city is the third largest city in the world. Marcos also explained how Sao Paulo city is made up of a number of smaller, “sub-cities,” and towns and since the city is so large, you cannot tell where one, “sub-city,” or town starts or ends.
Through all of this I was drinking Guarana and looking at the different sites while driving down the main highway. Some of the sites included a long bridge with very distinct support beams, a small amusement park, tons of shopping centers (Marcos Jr. had said that almost half the city, or more, is filled with them) and many tall buildings.
It was interesting to be in Sao Paulo city because, unlike New York City, Sao Paulo city is not as crowded as far as inner-city traffic and the streets do not form individual, “city blocks.” Everything seems to have its own unique look and feel.
I arrived at Marcos Jr.’s home. We left the next morning to pick up Marcos Jr.’s cousins at a bus terminal near his home; the bus terminal was huge.
When I walked into the terminal it felt like I was back at Sao Paulo International Airport because there were eateries everywhere and different, “gates,” for departing buses.
Most notable were the people. There were so many around that it took Marcos Jr. and I a while to find his five cousins. But we found them and from there it was off to camp.
During the ride, I also learned that sharing is a big part of Brazilian culture. Marcos Jr. had told me that Brazilians are willing to share what they have and it is customary that you share as well. Sometimes, Brazilians will insist that you take what they share, even if you don’t really want what they are offering, Marcos Jr. told me.
Once back at camp, Sonny Purugganan, Josh, Carlos, Jeff and the guys from Easton, were putting concrete roofing on top of a new garage on the upper hill of the camp. It took some time, but God willing, we got it all done before sundown and left to the worship hall to relax.
The next day, the group and I prepared for the next camp to take place. Samara and Monica were explaining that the kids coming for the three-day camp were coming from rough home lives and bad experiences. So the whole group prayed for wisdom and guidance so that we could help these children get on, or stay on, the right path.
Later, we all went to Atibaia to do some gift shopping, and went to a Brazilian barbeque “Churrascaria” as they are called.
Churrascarias are my favorite restaurants. My reason: you pay a fee of about R$ 25.00 or more and then the fun starts. You sit down, order a drink (which can include fresh mango, strawberry and any other kind of juice) and waiters begin serving you over 25 different kinds of meat (or however much the particular churrascaria offers).
From there you keep eating until you have had enough. It is wonderful. That night I had every single type of meat the churrascaria offered, including goat, chicken heart, beef and pork, as well as white rice, black beans and half a slice of pizza.
I also had two juice drinks, three Guaranas and a piece of cheesecake. It was surely a blessing from God. The only bad part, one must pay extra for every drink and every piece of dessert.
The next three days was camp and it was uplifting. When the children arrived, I did not know what to expect. Once I got to know them they were all great.
The children had different backgrounds. One girl, I was told, was kidnapped because she owed money to drug dealers (whether the drugs were for her or someone else I was not told).
I spent time with some of the boys and girls. I played pool with them, ate with them, stayed in the same cabin the boys did and tried my best to communicate with all of them.
It all went well; the kids had fun and were very loving; a little more trouble than the children from the last camp, but nothing out of the group’s control.
The first day was a welcome and worship night.
On the second day the group and I split the kids into two teams, each with their own team name, and they all played games in order to win points to see who would win the big prize on the last day.
On that day, I also played soccer with the Brazilian kids; I scored two goals. I was so happy. When I scored goals I ran on the field with my arms open, like the pros do. It was cool and one must know: here in Brazil, soccer is not just a fun game (which it is considered here)… but it’s also war.
That same night we had another campfire and through the messages spoken from the Holy Bible, the testimonies from some of the group members and others and Jesus Christ, many of the kids got saved and became Christians.
So once again, the group did its mission. The last day we determined the winning team and they were able to win the big prize: pouring water, flour, eggs and honey on my head and throwing me into the pool.
It was fun. I offered to have the prize be as such. During the camp, I also met a small girl who, I was told, lived on the streets. She was cute, She would always want me to sit with her and jump with her on the trampoline just outside the worship hall. It was nice to show her brotherly and Godly love; but that is what mission trips are all about, giving love to those who need it and sharing Jesus Christ with them.
After I was thrown into the pool, many others were too, and we all had to get changed. A shower was needed because I had globs of honey, flour and eggs in my hair. Afterward, we all had our last worship time and the best part was that all the children gave each group member a hug to show thanks for what the group did through Jesus Christ.
The bottom line was that the children were great. Some, during worship, even did special dances and musical performances.
Two boys, who looked like they were bad kids, got up and played trumpets together on stage with Marcos on organ. It was beautiful and it went to show that it does not matter where you come from, what you look like or who you are, you can still have great talents and do good.
However, the following morning was crazy. The kids had left the previous day; it was around 2 a.m. Some of the group and Dennis (a camp helper) were playing a night game.
All of a sudden we find that Dennis had fallen, hit his mouth on the ground, lost one tooth and cracked another. He gashed open the corner of his mouth; as well as some scrapes on his face.
We got him into a room and called in Danielle or “Dany,” Marcos’ daughter as well as a dentist.
Dany called the shots at that moment. Dany had some look for Dennis’ teeth. Thankfully they we able to retrieve everything, and all we could do was help and watch Dany work and pray for Dennis, which is what we did.
I held a flashlight for Dany and wiped blood from Dennis’ wounds. Samara held a flashlight. Mateus, a camp helper, Andrea and others, helped Dany hold and find her instruments.
It was amazing to watch Dany work, it reminded me of when I put together pieces of a model car because Dany had to push Dennis’ one tooth back in and try to piece together the other. Dany worked hard and was able to get the one tooth in, however, the cracked tooth was trouble because the glue would not hold and she was not in a normal operating environment.
But God gave Dany what she needed and she did a great job. But we had to take Dennis to the hospital in Atibaia to get stiches, his cracked tooth fixed and x-rays. It took all night, but in the end Dennis was okay and it was all thanks to Dany’s hard work and God. The day after, Dennis had to leave to go to another hospital for more evaluation.
During the following two days we said good-bye to Andrea, Josh, Tyler, Vannesa, Sonny, the guys from Easton and Jeff because they has to head home.
It was hard to say good-bye since we had grown close over the last two weeks. But they all did what they came to do, work for Jesus, and they succeeded.
Now the group is down in numbers. It is Sun., July 24 and this coming week there will be a church from Campinas, Sao Paulo renting the camp to conduct its own ministry. So Marcos, Sue, Dany, Monica, Marcos Jr., Mike, Samara, Samuel and I will be working at the camp July 29 cooking , working the soundboard for the stage, washing dishes, setting up, cleaning and helping the incoming group with their ministry.
So pray that we will do well, God bless and I will write next week.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Decker